Toroid winding apparatus



J. W. C. BASSETT TOROID WINDING APPARATUS July 12, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed on. 14, 1957 [r7 van to)": John WC. Basset-t,

b M M H/S At orney July 12, 1960 J. w. c. BASSETT 2,944,745

'ronom wnmuc APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 195'! 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fr; van to)": John W C. Basset:

H115 A tzforney.

United States Patent 2,944,145 TOROID WINDING APPARATUS John W. C. Bassett, 1ohmon Clty,-N.Y., assignor to General Electric Company, 'a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 14, 1957, Ser. No. 689,830

8 Claims. (Cl. 242-4) whereby miniature toroids may be completely mechanical- 1y wound.

Much interest has been shown recently in the electronics field toward the greater use of miniature toroids. However, the winding of these miniature toroids must be done entirely by hand. Present winding machines available, in general utilize a split bobbin. This split bobbin is entirely adequate for the uses for which it was designed. However, since in winding a toroid it is necessary to pass the bobbin through the toroid during the winding operation, the size of toroids which may be wound is limited by the outer diameter of the bobbin available. Since the split bobbin has a diameter in the order of an eighth of an inch or greater, it can be readily seen that it is not possible to use such a bobbin for winding miniature toroids, which have an inside diameter an eighth of an inch or smaller. This, of course, leads to the necessity of winding such toroids by hand with the consequent slow production and high cost of such hand-wound items.

Recently new materials have become available for use in toroids. These new metals have extremely delicate magnetic properties. These magnetic properties are greatly disturbed if the toroids are subject to contact with the human hand. Further, due to the size of these toroids they are easily crushed or misshapen when subject to any great degree of radial pressure. Thus it can be seen that there is a great need for toroid winding apparatus on which toroids may be automatically wound, thereby increasing the availability of such toroids and making them much less expensive.

Therefore, his one object of this invention to provide an improved winding apparatus on which miniature toroids can be entirely mechanically wound.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved winding apparatus which utilizes an extremely small circular shuttle to wind miniature toroids.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for winding toroids which will enable such toroids to be produced in great quantity and at small expense.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for winding miniature toroids without applying any radial pressure to the toroids.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for mechanically winding miniature toroids wherein the toroid to be wound is suspended on the winding wire.

In carrying out this invention in one form a toroid winding apparatus is provided which comprises a hollow, circular shuttle of very small outside diameter having a winding wire enclosed therein and being provided with an eye for the removal of the winding wire during the winding operation. The outer diameter of the shuttle is appreciably smaller than the inner diameter of the toroid to be wound. Means are provided for securing one end shuttle 12 carries a winding wire 34.

2,944,745 Patented July 12, 1960 of the winding wire to a fixed portion of the apparatus. The apparatus also comprises driving means for revolving the shuttle through the toroid thereby depositing a mm of wire on such toroid for each revolution of the shuttle. By continually revolving the shuttle, as many turns of wire as desired, may be wound on the toroid.

This invention and the manner in which its objectives and advantages are achieved will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toroid winding apparatus constructed in accordance with one form of this invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed perspective view of the apparatus shown in Figure lshowing the winding operation.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 showing detail thereof.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a portion of one form of a circular shuttle which may form a part of this invention.

Figure 5 is a sectional view showing a portion of a modified shuttle which may form a part of this invention. Figure 6 is a section view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5. t

Figure 7 is a sectional view showing a portion of another modified form of a circular shuttle.

Figure 8 is a section view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a sectional view showing still another modified form of a circular shuttle.

Figure 10 is a sectional view showing a further modification of a circular shuttle which may form a part of this invention, and

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 10.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals are used to indicate like parts throughout, and in particular with reference to Fig. 1, this invention in one form is shown as a miniature toroid winding apparatus generally designated by numeral 10, utilizing a hollow,

circular shuttle 12 to wind a miniature toroid 14. As

shown in Fig. l, apparatus 10 comprises a driving means for rotating or driving the shuttle 12 through the toroid 14, a tensioning means for tightening the wire about the toroid and a restraining means to prevent the winding wire from kinking or tangling as it is being wound.

More specifically, the miniature toroid winding apparatus 10 comprises a motor means 16 which may be a conventional electric motor energized from a source of electric power (not shown). The motor 16 is provided with a rotatable drive shaft 18 on which is fixedly mounted for rotation therewith a bevel gear 20. The bevel gear 20 meshes with a bevel gear 22 which is fixed on a stub shaft 24. The shaft 24 is rotatably mounted in the base plate 26 in any desired manner. Also mounted on the shaft 24 and rotatable therewith is a driving pulley 28. The driving pulley 28 is drivingly connected with a number of rollers or pulleys 30 by means of the driving belt 32. Mounted within the rollers or pulleys 30 and in driving relation thereto, is a hollow, circular shuttle 12. Therefore, when the motor 16 is energized the bevel gear 20 drives bevel gear 24 as well as the driving pulley 28. The driving pulley 28 in turn drives the rollers or pulleys 30 through the driving belt 32 thereby causing the hollow, circular shuttle 12 to rotate or revolve.

As better shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the hollow, circular A toroid 14 is placed in the opening 36 formed in the base plate 26 of the apparatus 10, the toroid 14 surrounding the diameter of the hollow, circular shuttle 12. The free end 38 of the winding wire 34 which is carried by the shuttle 12, is

attached to a portion of the opening 36 in any desired manner, as for example, a screw 40. As the shuttle 12 is caused to rotate, the winding wire 34 carried thereby is wound upon the toroid 14, one turn being wound thereon for each rotation of the hollow shuttle 12. As is clearly shown in Fig. 3 the toroid 14 is actually suspended on the winding wire 34 by means of the attachment of free end 38 to the base plate 36. In this manner the toroid 14 is not subject to any radial pressure during the winding operation.

A tensioning device 42 is provided to tighten the winding wire 34 on the toroid 14 during each revolution of the shuttle 12. As shown in Fig. l, the tensioning device 42 is in the form of a circular wheel carried by an arm 44 which is movably mounted above the base plate 26, in any desired manner. As shown in Fig. l, the arm 44 is mounted on a sleeve 46 which is rotatable and slidable on a shaft or bar 48. The shaft or bar 48 is in turn movably mounted in a fixed block 50 which forms a portion of the base plate 26. The bar 48 is attached to a small plate 52 which slides in the grooves 54 of the fixed plate 50. Plate 52 and therefore bar 48 may be securely fixed in any position within the grooves 54 by means of set screw 56. The sleeve 46 also may be fixed in any position along and about the bar 48 by means of set screw 58. In the above manner the wheel 42 may be placed in the desired position within the circle formed by the hollow shuttle 12 to provide the necessary tensioning operation. The wheel 42 is driven by the motor 16 through a movable pulley 60, slidably mounted on the driving shaft 18a of motor 16. A driving belt 62 drives a second pulley 64 which is rotatably mounted on the wheel arm 44. A second pulley 66 is fixed to rotate with pulley 64 and through a driving belt 68 drives a pulley 70 which is rotatably mounted on the other end of the arm 44 and fixed to the wheel 42, thereby causing the wheel 42 to rotate.

Referring now to Fig. 2 the winding operation will be described. The hollow shuttle 12 is provided with an eye 72 through which the winding wire 34 is withdrawn from the interior of the hollow shuttle 12. As the shuttle 12 revolves through the toroid 14, the portion of the winding wire 34a is pulled under the tensioning wheel 42. The rotation of the tensioning wheel 42 thereby pulls the winding wire 34a snugly about the toroid 14. As the shuttle 12 continues to revolve, the winding wire is moved from under the wheel 42 as indicated at 34b, and moves about the inside of the circle formed by the shuttle 12. As the shuttle 12 completes its revolution the winding wire loops about the toroid 14, as indicated at 34c, and continues through the toroid 14 to thereby wind another turn of the winding wire upon the toroid. In this manner as many turns of wire as desired may be wound upon the toroid 14 by the continuous rotation of the shuttle 12.

Since the wire 34 is generally a soft copper wire, it is progressively work hardened during the winding operation by repeated flexure and tensioning under wheel 42. As a consequence, when it reaches the position indicated by 34c it has a tendency to kink or tangle. To prevent this kinking or tangling a restraining means 74, shown in Fig. 1, is provided. The restraining means 74 may be of any desired form being shown in the preferred embodiment as a piece of spring steel 76 having stifi bristles 78 mounted thereon and in contact with the base plate 26. The steel bar 76 is mounted at one end of the base plate 26 by means of block 80. Thus the bar 76 and the bristles 78 are enabled to move to prevent undue strain on wire 34 while at the same time holding wire 34 against the base plate 26, thereby preventing kinking or tangling of the wire.

The hollow, circular shuttle 12, which forms a part of this invention, may be made in a number of sizes. Of course, it will be understood that the outer diameter of the shuttle will depend on the inner diameter of the toroids to be wound thereon. For example, for the 1 larger miniature toroids the outer diameter of the shuttle may be in the order of 0.060 inch, while for very small miniature toroids the outer diameter of the shuttle may be 0.012 inch. Preferably the shuttle is a hollow thinwalled tube having a very small outer diameter which may be in the range of approximately 0.060 to 0.012

inch. The hollow tube is provided with an eye to allow the winding wire to be withdrawn therefrom and is formed into a circle, utilizing coupling means to hold the two ends together and maintain the tube in a circular form. Various means of constructing the shuttle are shown in Figs. 4-11. Fig. 4 shows one of the simplest manners in which a shuttle 12 is provided with an eye 72 and is held in its circular form by means of a coupling member 82, which is in the form of a plug making a tight press fit with the inner diameter of the shuttle 12. The coupling member 82 may be provided with a small opening as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. In Figs. 5 and 6 the shuttle 12a is shown as having an eye 72a and a coupling member 82a. The coupling member 82a is -provided with a small slot 84 which is sufiicieutly large to allow the winding wire 34 to be passed therethrough. By means of this type of coupling member a larger quantity of winding wire may be carried within the hollow shuttle 12a, therefore allowing a larger number of turns to be wound upon a toroid during a single operation.

In the winding operation it is at times desirable to provide a tensioning means within the hollow shuttle to prevent the winding wire from being withdrawn too easily. Figs. 7-11 show a number of types of tensioning means which may be incorporated with the coupling means. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8 a shuttle 12b is provided with an eye 72b and includes a coupling member 86 which forms a press fit with the inner diameter of the shuttle 12b. One end of coupling member 86 is provided with a leaf spring member 88 which presses against the winding wire 34 in the vicinity of the eye 72b and thereby restraining the withdrawal of winding wire 34 from the eye 72b. Fig. 9 shows another form of coupling member having restraining means in which the circular hollow shuttle 12c is provided with an eye 72c and is held together by a coupling member 90 which forms a tight press lit with the inner diameter thereof. One end of the coupling member is provided with a tapered shaft-like portion 92 and the winding wire 34 encircles this tapered portion 92 in the vicinity of the eye 720. The turns of winding wire 34 about the tapered shaft 92 provides the desired restraint on the wire 34 requiring a desired amount of pressure to remove the wire from the shuttle.

A further embodiment of the shuttle is shown in Figs. 10 and 11. In Figs. 10 and 11 a shuttle 12d is provided with an eye 72d which is formed adjacent one of the open ends of the shuttle 12d. A coupling member 94 is provided forming a press fit with the interior diameter of the shuttle 12d thereby holding the open ends of the shuttle 12d together in a circular form. The coupling member 94 is provided with a tapered portion 96 which substantially fills the interior of the hollow shuttle adjacent the eye 72d, thereby forcing the winding wire 34 firmly against the interior wall of the shuttle 12d. The tapered portion 96 thus provides the desired restraining pressure preventing the winding wire 34 from easily being withdrawn from the eye 72d.

While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of the winding apparatus of this invention together with a number of modifications thereto, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be made in the apparatus described without departing from the teachings of this invention. Therefore, it is intended to cover all such modifications and changes as come within the true spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

on said winding wire a toroid to be wound, and means,

for revolving said shuttle through the toroid, whereby Y turns of wire are wound uponthe toroid.

2. In a machine for winding miniature toroids the combination of a hollow, circular shuttle, having a diameter within the range of approximately 0.060 to 0.012 inch, winding wire carried within said shuttle, an eye formed in said shuttle whereby said winding 'wire may be removed from said shuttle and deposited upon a toroid to be wound, means for securing one end of said wire to a stationary portion of said machine to thereby substantially suspend on said winding wire a toroid to be wound,

and means for revolving said shuttle through a toroid to be wound, thereby depositing a turn ofrwire upon the toroid to be wound for each revolution of said shuttle.

3. A machine for'winding miniature toroids comprising; a hollow, circular shuttle, having a smaller outer diameter than the inner diameter of the toroids to be wound by the machine, winding wire carried within said shuttle, an eye formed in said shuttle thereby allowing the winding wire to be removed from said shuttle for depositing on a toroid to be wound, means formed in said machine for receiving a toroid to be wound, said means allowing said circular shuttle to freely move through a toroid to be wound, means securing one end of said winding wire to a stationary portion of said machine to thereby substantially suspend on said winding wire a toroid to be wound, means for revolving said shuttle and tensioning means to tighten said wire about a toroid to be wound, whereby for each revolution of said shuttle a turn of wire is deposited on the toroid to be wound.

4. A machine for winding miniature toroids comprising; a hollow, circular shuttle, haying an outer diameter within the -range of approximately 0.060 to 0.012 inch, winding wire carried within said shuttle, an eye formed in said shuttle thereby allowing the winding wire to be removed from said shuttle for depositing on a toroid to be wound, means formed in said machine for receiving a toroid to be wound, said means allowing said circular shuttle to freely move through a toroid to be wound, means securing one end of said winding wire to a stationary portion of said machine to thereby substantially suspend on said winding wire a toroid to be wound, means for revolving said shuttle and tensioning means to tighten said wire about a toroid to be wound, whereby for each revolution of said shuttle a turn of wire is deposited on the toroid to be wound.

5. A machine for winding miniature toroids comprising; a hollow, circular shuttle, having a smaller outer diameter than the inner diameter of the toroids to be wound by the machine, winding wire carried within said shuttle, an eye formed in said shuttle thereby allowing the winding wire to be removed from said shuttle for Y depositing on a toroid to be wound, means formed in said machine for receiving a toroid to be wound, said means allowing said circular shuttle to freely move through a toroid to be wound, means securing one end of said winding wire to a stationary portion of said machine to thereby substantially suspend on said winding wire a toroid to be wound, means for revolving said shuttle, tensioning means to tighten said wire about a toroid to be wound, whereby for each revolution of said shuttle a turn of wire is deposited on the toroid to be wound, and restraining means to prevent tangling of said winding wire during said winding operation.

6. A machine for winding miniature toroids comprising; a hollow, circular shuttle, having an outer dimneter within the range of approximately 0.060 to 0.012 inch, winding wire carried within said shuttle, an eye formed in said shuttle thereby allowing the winding wire to be removed from said shuttle for depositing ona toroid to be wound-means formed in said machine for receiving a toroid to be wound, said means allowing said circular shuttle tofreely move through a'toroid to be wound, means securing one end of said winding wire to a stationary portion of said machine to thereby substantially suapend on said winding wire a toroid to be wound, means for revolving said shuttle, tensioning means to tighten said wire about a toroid to be wound, whereby for each revolution of said shuttle a turn of wire is deposited on the toroid to be wound, and restraining means to prevent tangling of said winding wire during said winding operation.

7. In a machine for winding miniature toroids the combination of a hollow, circular shuttle, having a diameter within the range of approximately 0.060 to 0.012

inch, winding wire carried within said shuttle, an eye formed in said shuttle whereby said winding wire may be removed from said shuttle and deposited upon a toroid to be wound, tensioning means within said shuttle and associated with said winding wire requiring a desired amount of pressure to remove said winding wire from said shuttle, means for securing one end of said wire to a stationary portion of said machine to thereby substantially suspend on said winding wire a toroid to be wolmd, and means for revolving said shuttle through a toroid to be wound, thereby depositing a turn of wire upon the toroid to be-wound for each revolution of said shuttle.

8. A machine for winding miniature toroids comprising a substantially circular shuttle, having a smaller outside diameter than the inner diameter of the toroids to be wound thereon, toroid winding wire associated with said shuttle and adapted to move therewith, means securing one end of said winding wire to a stationary portion of said machine to thereby substantially suspend on said winding wire a toroid to be wound, means for revolving said substantially circular shuttle through the toroid, and means for transferring said winding wire from the shuttle to the toroid upon revolutionof said shuttle through the toroid whereby turns of wire are wound upon the toroid References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,185,883 Berger Ian. 2, 1940 2,672,297 Harder Mar. 16, 1954 2,810,530 Marsters Oct. 22, 1957 2,812,143 Goodykoontz Nov. 5, 1957 2,863,609 Link Dec. 9, 1958 2,865,573 Tarara et a1. Dec. 23, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 639,177 Great Britain June 21, 1950 140,544- Australia Mar. 28, i 

